The employment team’s Daniel Estrada with council leader Rachael Robathan

A KITCHEN has been set up in the council’s offices and is producing 900 meals a day for the homeless.

There are 450 people – either rough sleepers now in hotel rooms or those with specific issues like mental illness in hostels – now getting two meals a day.

The cooking is done on the 19th floor of Westminster’s City Hall in Victoria and then taken out to the locations.

Council leader Rachael Robathan, who helped to pack some food parcels this week, said: “The volunteers and employees helping at Unity Kitchen are just one example of the fantastic groundswell of support we have had from people in Westminster.

“They are working flat out every day to get meals to more than 400 people who otherwise might struggle. The Unity Kitchen is running from breakfast to dinner and I was grateful to have the opportunity to thank everyone involved.

Unity Kitchen: Cllr Rachael Robathan and head chef Brian Fantoni

“These are incredibly tough times for everyone, but residents in Westminster should know they are not alone, and we are there to support them.”

Unity Works, an organisation supporting people with learning disabilities, is organising the hand-outs with support of Chelsea Football Club.

The Premier League club has made a “generous donation”, the council said.

McDonald’s is providing fresh, lettuce, tomatoes and milk for the parcels.

The government last week suggested that councils should try to find hotels for homeless people to get them off the streets and safe away from COVID-19.

The council said it had provided 297 hotel places for rough sleepers, the majority in Westminster.

Black cab drivers are taking homeless people to the hotels.

Greenside Community Centre in Lisson Green has also been turned into a hub for food deliveries to around 180 residents with serious underlying health conditions. It is staffed by council workers and volunteers.

Across the borough, 1,720 people have offered to help support the council’s work through a volunteer scheme.

Meanwhile, The Grosvenor Estate has waived rent for the next quarter for independent and vulnerable businesses in Westminster.